list.co.uk/festival NEHH | FESTIVAL MUSIC
Rachel Sermanni SUMMER IN THE CITY
Summerhall’s series of gigs is revitalising the Edinburgh scene and, as Kirstyn Smith fi nds out, this month’s lineup is fi lling a music-shaped gap at the Fringe
R eclaiming that old refrain that there’s nothing going on music- wise in Edinburgh, Summerhall’s Nothing Ever Happens Here gigs have been running for just over a year. Aiming to relaunch a culture of gig-going in the capital after the drip-fed closure of music venues and punishing noise restrictions, the nights have been successful in pulling in class acts from across the country over the short while it’s been going.
This year, its Fringe lineup is as good as ever, echoing the festival’s steady push towards showcasing a wider range of genres and styles across the board. ‘I suppose I automatically think of comedy when I think of the Fringe more than I think of music,’ says Scottish musician Rachel Sermanni. ‘So perhaps that is a sign that it is a little out of balance.’
Sermanni plays NEHH on Wed 10 Aug. Her acoustic set will be supported by folk collective Matt Norris & the Moon in Summerhall’s Dissection Room, a venue perfectly named to showcase a stripped- down take on her brand of folky pop.
‘I wonder what the Fringe intends to be all about at its core,’ she adds. ‘Perhaps it is a good opportunity for comedy to l ourish and for music
to take a back seat in a country where music seems, I think, to normally be quite at the forefront.’ Sermanni isn’t alone in considering the role of music at the Fringe this year. Withered Hand – aka Dan Wilson, Edinburgh’s pensive folk stalwart, who’s bringing a full band show to Summerhall on Sat 27 Aug – agrees that the Fringe previously seemed to be missing a trick.
‘I have felt for the last few years the music aspect of the festival has increased its proi le,’ he says. ‘If you’re a music lover, that’s great. It always felt like it was maybe lagging behind.’
The well-known acts that Nothing Ever Happens Here has nabbed for the month corroborates Withered Hand’s view that the Fringe is becoming more musically hip. 2015 Scottish Album of the Year Award winner Kathryn Joseph (with indie pop producer and multi- instrumentalist The Anchoress) takes to Summerhall’s rabbit warren interior on Sat 6 Aug. Once one of our best-kept secrets, the success of her debut solo album Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I’ve Spilled makes Joseph a bit of a catch. On Thu 11 Aug, Willis Earl Beal graces the Dissection stage with his deconstructed blues while, on Sat 13 Aug, WHITE’s hyper racket will be on show, with support from Bossy
4–11 Aug 2016 THE LIST FESTIVAL 75